Report: Knox area third in state for high-paying advanced energy jobs, even more focus needed

“Advanced energy” is a part of many developing fields, but a new report says it’s time for it to come into its own in Tennessee.

It’s already big in and around Knoxville, where Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee and Tennessee Valley Authority help make this area third in the state for high-paying advanced energy jobs.

Advanced energy should become a “targeted industry cluster,” a focus for business recruitment and economic development, according to the report from the Howard Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at UT. The report was sponsored by the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council.